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Scarecrow (Arkhamverse)
A man of true intellect, Jonathan Crane fell from grace when he became absorbed by his own experiments dwelling into fear and the incredible effects it can have on a person's psychological condition. Bullied throughout his youth, Crane seemed to conquer his own fears by becoming a master at such a natural and primal feeling through his research. Having developed an incredible gas agent that amplifies a person's worst fears and brings it to life in a horrifying fashion in his or her mental state, Crane guised himself into the terrifying image of The Scarecrow. With his research the only motivating factor in his life, Scarecrow feels nothing but delight when he sees his countless victims' minds break into insanity and death from his weaponized fear toxin. Having been recruited by The Joker for one of his more brutal plans, Crane uses the opportunity to perfect an even more lethal dose of his signature fear gas. He hoped that not even the The Dark Knight would be able to withstand its effects and planned to unleash it into Gotham City to break the soul of every citizen forever. Biography Taunted and bullied in his youth, Jonathan Crane vowed to overcome his fears through the study of psychology and biochemistry. Kicked out of his university for experimenting on human subjects, Crane adopted the identity of the Scarecrow and armed himself with a specialized fear-inducing gas that makes a person's deepest fears become frighteningly real. His ongoing criminal reign of terror makes him one of Batman's most psychologically dangerous foes. Attributes: *Master of psychology and chemistry *Creator of fear-inducing gas *Motivated by an obsessive need to create fear in others Batman: Arkham Origins Dr. Crane was a frequent visitor to Blackgate Penitentiary, and he also gave advertisements to curing psychological problems, some of which were posted in the Final Offer. However, he did not sign out by the time Black Mask conducted a raid on the prison facility, indicating that he may have been held prisoner. Batman: Assault on Arkham Scarecrow was released from Arkham Asylum by the Joker. He injected his fear gas into some of the guards before escaping. Road to Arkham An anonymous tip to Scarecrow's activities noted in the patient interviews in the form of a vial of the Scarecrow's Fear Gas was left at police headquarters. Using this, Batman was able to create an antidote. The Scarecrow was found by Batman using his Fear Gas to attack his state-sponsored psychologist. Batman apprehended the Scarecrow and locked him back up into Arkham Asylum. It was revealed that the vial came from Dr. Kellerman. Even though Scarecrow was back in Arkham, he continued his plans from a secret loft hidden in the Intensive Treatment Center, plotting his next move and even getting his hands on the blueprints of Arkham Asylum. ''Batman: Arkham Asylum'' The Scarecrow was one of the inmates of Arkham on the Joker's "party list". As part of the Joker's scheme, he led Batman to the Medical Facility where the Scarecrow pumped the elevator Batman was in full of Fear Gas. As Batman made his way to the bottom floor he saw the Scarecrow spraying his Fear Gas into an operating room of Arkham staff and patients, causing them to panic to the point of death. Eventually, Batman began seeing a vision of Commissioner Gordon, crying for help, before being dragged out of view. Batman found Gordon's body, and sadly tried calling Oracle to tell her he was too late. He could not contact her, however, as Barbara's voice said that the number he was trying to reach was unavailable, and to hang up. Batman then made his way to the morgue. In the morgue, an echoing voice told Batman "You shouldn't be here!" and "Get out of here!", slowly growing louder, and creating an ominous, ghostly feeling in the air. Batman turned around and exited the room, only to find himself entering exactly the same room. There lay three body bags, two of which contained his deceased parents, speaking to him, with the Scarecrow jumping out of the third. It turned into a cat and mouse game in a surreal other world made up of elements of the asylum, where a giant Scarecrow sought out the hiding Batman. Batman was able to finally break free from the Scarecrow's hold by avoiding his assailant's gaze and shining a Batsignal, a manifestation of Batman's will power, at him, destroying the giant Scarecrow and ending the hallucination. Back in reality, Batman went back to Gordon, only to find that it was in fact the body of another security guard Scarecrow killed. The Scarecrow later attacked Batman with his Fear Gas once again, after Batman destroyed Dr. Young's Titan formula. This caused Batman to relive his parents' deaths, walking down a long, never-ending hall that turned into a city street in the pouring rain. As Batman walked down the 'street', he heard his parents and a younger version of himself talking in the background, before they were met and attacked by Joe Chill, with his voice monstrously distorted. Batman then briefly took the appearance of his eight-year-old self, hearing Jim Gordon and another officer discussing the murder in the background, before Gordon himself asked the young Bruce about the criminal. The voices soon ended, and another giant Scarecrow hallucination ensued, in which Batman escaped Scarecrow's hold once more by shining a second Batsignal at him. This time, upon returning to the real world, Batman found that he had somehow made his way into the top of Arkham Mansion's clock tower, and was locked in. Scarecrow used his Fear Gas for a third time when Batman re-entered the Intensive Treatment center. The toxins caused Batman to relive the starting events of the game, but with the Joker and Batman in opposite positions. Much to the Scarecrow's surprise, Batman was able to break free of the Scarecrow's hold, waking up clutching Crane himself. Scarecrow injected Batman with even more Fear Toxin, leading up to another giant Scarecrow hallucination, in which Scarecrow watched as Batman fought his army of skeletons, including two larger ones (actually Joker's thugs, two injected with Titan). Batman broke free once again, causing the Scarecrow to flee to the sewers below. Batman followed Crane there and confronted him by an underground river, leading straight to Gotham's water supply. The Scarecrow threatened to drop a bag of his Fear Toxin into the water supply, plunging Gotham's citizens into constant terror for up to one hundred years. Before he could do anything, however, Killer Croc attacked Scarecrow from the water, knocking the toxin bag harmlessly to the ground. Batman stopped Croc from eating Crane by activating his shock collar with a Batarang, causing Croc to retreat into the water, dragging Crane with him. Scarecrow, however, apparently escaped Croc through unknown means. In one of the three alternate endings after the credits, Crane emerged from the water by the docks and grabbed onto a floating crate containing the Titan formula. The same goes for Croc, and Bane. ''Batman: Arkham City'' Although Scarecrow doesn't appear in Batman: Arkham City he is referenced in several ways. *Throughout Arkham City, various criminals and inmates mention Scarecrow's absence. Various mentions by the inmates include that that he is the "only freak" that's not imprisoned, that Killer Croc "got him", and one particular comment suggesting that they are living in one of his nightmares. *During the events of Protocol 10, if you head to the roof tops of Amusement Mile, you will find gang members dressed similar to and wearing symbols signifying Scarecrow. * His gas mask can be seen amidst piles of hay. You must find his mask in order to solve one of the Riddler's riddles, the riddle is "If you're scared, don't be afraid to crow about it." Scanning it will unlock a story that can be viewed from the menu, and is as follows: No one has seen Jonathan Crane a.k.a. the Scarecrow since he was attacked by Killer Croc in the sewers below Arkham Asylum. Some say he escaped certain death by dragging what was left of himself onto a TITAN container and floating out to sea (as is seen in one of the random ending scenes in Batman: Arkham Asylum), while others believe he was eaten by Croc. Undeterred, Batman has spent months searching for Crane, refusing to believe that he is dead. If Crane is out there, plotting his revenge on Batman, then Batman knows Gotham will never be truly safe. ''The Gas Mask is gone during Harley Quinn's revenge. *During the Hush side mission, when a suspect who looks remarkably like Bruce Wayne is suspected to be a serial killer, Oracle throws out the possibility that Crane could have drugged Batman again, causing him to unknowingly commit the crimes. Batman quickly dismisses this. * Elsewhere in ''Batman: Arkham City, between Amusement Mile and the Industrial District (just east of Scarecrow's mask), there is a boat moored between two buoys, in front of the North Gotham Dock sign. Using the Cryptographic Sequencer while on the boat with the password, "City of Terror" (which is the toughest code to crack in the game) will open a sealed hatch. Climbing down into the darkness disables Detective Mode and moves into first person view. The interior is a long, darkened hallway with a number of containers on either side holding large numbers of beetles inside them, some of which can also be seen crawling around the interior of the boat. In the back, there is a thug sitting hunched over in a chair under a lone light, unmoving. He appears to have a symbol on his chest that looks similar to the Scarecrows mark. Upon approaching him, he suddenly bolts upright and screams, before arching backwards in his seat and apparently dying. Next to him, there is a shipping invoice labeled #CRANE0016 from Falcone Shipping for the attention of Dr. J. Crane. The invoice lists 20 "Biological Containment Vessel Type 3" as well as shipping and sundry costs totaling $560,550 (this is $550 more than the total listed costs). There is a customs declaration of, "Live insects for medical research purposes." It also contains shipping notes, stating, "Jonathan, I hope you find everything to be satisfactory, Mr. Fine was very specific about the shipping details and we have followed them to the letter. By now you will have received the initial 15 shipments. The rest are in transit and will be with you shortly." followed by an unknown signature. During Harley Quinn's revenge, the boat has been sealed off. * Several fear gas tanks can be found around Arkham City. To the near west of Scarecrow's mask, some gas tanks can be seen lying on the ground. They have what appears to be Scarecrow's mark on them. After you have saved the second hostage from The Riddler, the area where barbed wired offed will have several Fear Canisters with Scarecrow's mark on them. Fear Canisters are also found in Hush's lair on the right as you enter the surgery room, suggesting that he had been helping him with his Identity Thief crimes. * If Batman scans the airwaves using the Cryptographic Sequencer, he can find secret radio stations that give off a seemingly random series of numbers followed by a music chime. The first message, found at Station 500.00/900.00 gives off the following numbers: 5 15 9 7 21 18 18 14 3 5 24 15 12 7 22 3 10 5 15 9 22 3 8 25 26 15 16 25 10 15 17 25 *chime*. Decoding this message can by done by, first, assigning a number to each letter starting with "z" (Z=1, Y=2, X=3, etc.), and second, shifting up by three (so that Z=4, Y=5, X=6, etc.). Once decoded, it will read "You will pay for what you have done to me." '''The second message, found at Station 700.00/500.00 gives off these numbers: 9 23 9 12 12 18 5 20 21 18 14 2 1 20 13 1 14 *chime* . Decoding this message can be done by matching each number to its corresponding letter in the alphabet (A=1, B=2, C=3, etc.). Once its decoded, it reads ''"I will return Batman." ''The final message, found at Station 200.00/500.00 gives off these numbers: 3 20 26 18 26 16 24 1 11 4 24 9 3 8 5 2 12 18 6 16 7 11 3 10 17 5 13 4 21 8 *chime*. Decoding this message is more complicated. First, match each number to its corresponding letter in the alphabet (A=1, B=2, C=3, etc.). This gives the sequence: C T Z R Z P X A K D X I C H E B L R F P G K C J Q E M D U H. Using an Atbash cipher, A is substituted for Z, Y for B, X for C, and so on. This gives the sequence: X G A I A K C Z P W C R X S V Y O I U K T P X Q J V N W F S. Finally, a Vigenere ciphere is used. A keyword is needed to solve the cipher, and the keyword for the code is "SCARECROW". Once decoded, it reads: ''"Fear will tear Gotham City to shreds." '' It should be noted that these messages only appear after a certain point in the game and confirm that Scarecrow is still alive, and seeks revenge on Batman. Arkham Unhinged Mad Hatter mentioned that he acquired and modified Scarecrow's fear gas to make Batman see his "Alices" as various Alice in Wonderland characters who, in turn, were drugged by Hatter and placed under his control. ''Batman: Arkham Knight'' Scarecrow is going to appear in Batman: Arkham Knight as the main antagonist, next to the Arkham Knight. His appearance and voice have changed significantly since last seen. His face is disfigured after his encounter with Killer Croc in the sewers of Arkham Asylum. His mask is falling apart, and he is now blind in his right eye. Other Appearances Injustice: Gods Among Us Scarecrow cameos in Injustice: Gods Among Us in one of the stage transitions in the Arkham Asylum stage. When the player attacks their opponent near the edge of the Cell Block arena, they are knocked into a room where Scarecrow injects the fighter with his fear toxin, and brutally attacks them at gigantic size before they move on to the Mess Hall arena. Patient Interviews thumb|300px|right Tape One Patient Interview #1, January 7th *'''Scarecrow: Patient Interview 1. Patient was referred to me after the incident with Dr. Murphy. He appears to have suffered a breakdown of sorts. I believe it was brought about after the loss of his wife and child. As yet, the patient has been unable to speak. Continued observation shows little mental activity. It's as if the shock of what he saw triggered his mental collapse. *'Security Guard:' There's someone in here! It's him! We've found him! Break down the door! *'Scarecrow:' Note to self. As ever, it is difficult to continue my research under such conditions. *'Security Guard:' Step away from Dr. Combs. Now! Get down on the ground! We found them. Someone get a medic. Oh God, what's he done to him? Tape Two Patient Interview #6, January 22nd *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' Patient interview 6. Dr. Crane has been back in custody for 3 weeks. Regular sessions have been inconclusive. I am not sure he is actually insane. *'Scarecrow:' Good evening, Stephen. How are you tonight? *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' I'm conducting the session, Jonathan. *'Scarecrow:' Of course. If that helps you cope, I wouldn't have it any other way. *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' Let's talk about the events 3 weeks ago. What did you think you'd achieve? Dr. Murphy is still in therapy. *'Scarecrow:' I wanted to understand him. His personal demons. His fears. It's all quite fascinating, really. *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' But you are...were a respected doctor. A brilliant mind, now just another resident in Arkham. *'Scarecrow:' Can I have a drink? A strong one? This kind of question bores me. *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' I'm afraid not. *'Scarecrow:' Interesting choice of words, Doctor. Tell me, what are you afraid of? Tape Three Patient Interview #9, January 29th *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' Patient interview 9. Dr. Crane continues to evade questions. I believe he is quite sane. Just evil. He takes no interest in the people he has hurt. His research appears to be the only motivating factor in his life. What is it about fear that drives your obsessions? *'Scarecrow:' Fear drives everything, Stephen. Everything. Your life is governed by fear. Every decision you make is a product of that fear. *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' Don't be ridiculous. *'Scarecrow:' You married your wife...Margaret, isn't it?...because you were scared of dying alone. You have children because you are scared of leaving nothing behind that really matters. You go to the doctors because you're scared of dying. Do I need to go on? *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' No. I think that will be all for today. Guards! Tape Four Patient Interview #12, February 14th *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' Today I have another interview with Crane. I cannot say I am looking forward to it. I've been feeling anxious. I don't like to admit it, but...I think he's getting to me. *'Scarecrow:' How are you today? *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' I keep telling you, this is my session. *'Scarecrow:' It was your session, Doctor, but not anymore. *'Security Guard:' Are you OK, doc? *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' I think...yes..I... *'Scarecrow:' Oh, he's fine. Just questioning his grip on reality. You should be doing the same any second... *'Security Guard:' Mom, is that you? Wait, what are you doing? *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' Get off of me... Help. I need help here. I can't breathe... *'Scarecrow:' Like I said... You're all part of my experiment now! Tape Five Asylum interview #1, February 14th *'Scarecrow:' Asylum interview 1. My experiment is underway. Working alone, I have created my ultimate Fear Gas, its potency a revelation. *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' Ah! Ahh! They're all over me! *'Security Guard:' Please, daddy, don't do it! Ah! Ahh! *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' Keep away! Keep away! Keep away! *'Scarecrow:' I have pumped enough gas into the Medical Center to break 100 minds. It should only be a matter of time before (Sound of glass shattering.) What? *'Batman:' Give it up, Now! *'Scarecrow:' How...how are you still standing? How come it's not affecting you? *'Batman:' Who says it's not? *'Scarecrow:' I knew it. What was it like? What have you seen? *'Dr. Stephen Kellerman:' Officer Cash. Get this formula to the air-conditioning system. Now! *'Batman:' You failed, Crane. Again. I've been working with Dr. Kellerman, creating an antidote to the toxins in your cologne. He fooled you, Crane. How does that make you feel? Threatened, humiliated? Scared? Psychological profile (by Dr. Penelope Young) "Possibly one of my greatest successes here at the asylum. Despite his tendency for extensive role-play (oddly common among Gotham City's criminals), it's unclear to me why Dr. Crane was ever considered insane. In our long discussions, I've been impressed with his genius for psychology and biochemistry, and I fully believe that if presented with a stock of his fear-inducing gas, he would feel no compulsion to use it. He seems to have entirely turned away from his former life of crime as the Scarecrow." Additional notes "He's valiantly battled a history of anxiety disorder, due to a difficult childhood and adulthood trauma, through an intense study of psychology and the causes of fear. I've come to believe that the accusations that he experimented on human subjects are wildly exaggerated." GENIUS at Chemistry! Would he have something to contribute to 'Titan' research? Quotes *''"Poor little bat. You're in my world now!"'' *''"What are you doing, little bat?"'' *''"I will break you!"'' *''"Oh, there you are!"'' *''"No, he's not. We really should feel sorry for him. He never fully got over his parent's death. It left him quite insane."'' *''"Everything you see is under my control!"'' *''"Is your mind playing tricks on you? Or am I?"'' *''"What are you, Batman? Chicken?"'' *''"Dare to step into my gaze!"'' *"I think you need a little more!" *''"Tell me, what demons do you have left to beat? Shall we see?"'' *''"Are you enjoying the extra dose, little bat? Oh, I won't rush things this time. I'm going to savor every moment of your terror as I slowly destroy you."'' *''"You're fighting back. Good. It can only weaken your resolve."'' *''"How much more do you think you can take? Does it scare you to know that I have almost defeated you?"'' *''"How are you doing this? You have ingested enough toxins to drive ten men insane! What are you?'' *''"Why fight it, Batman? You're as crazy as the rest of us. You need us as much as we need you. And to prove it, I'll flood the catacombs with enough Fear Gas to break the minds of everyone in Gotham for a hundred years."'' *''"You cannot escape my gaze! You will die here!"'' *''"Look around you! These are the broken fragments of your mind!"'' *''" Your mind will shatter like glass!"'' *''"Are you scared, little bat? Do you need your mommy?"'' *''"Welcome to my world, Batman!"'' *''"I see you, Batman."'' *''"What was that?"'' *''"You're in my realm now. Everything is as real as I choose it to be."'' *''"What are you trying to do?"'' *''"Stand still. This won't hurt."'' *''"He's all yours, Joker."'' Game Over Lines *''"And at the end of fear... oblivion."'' *''"You've failed. Now suffer!"'' *''"Now madness takes you, forever."'' Trivia *The third encounter with Scarecrow, in which the game appears to reset then show a false Game Over screen is most likely a reference to the Metal Gear Solid games, or Eternal Darkness, when Psycho Mantis/losing your sanity makes the game "Crash". It could also be a reference to Earthbound as the screen blacks out after the game "Crashed", much like when Giygas was defeated. *Additionally, the mention of "Doctor Murphy" in Scarecrow's interview tapes could have been a reference to Cillian Murphy, the actor who played Scarecrow in Christopher Nolan's Batman films. The tapes also include a "Doctor Combs" which could reference to Jeffery Combs, the actor who was the voice of Scarecrow in the fourth season of Batman: The Animated Series. *The needles on the Scarecrow's right hand, bare a strong resemblance to the fictional serial killer, Freddy Krueger's claws. The Scarecrow and Freddy Krueger both send their victims into terrifying dream worlds, where they are killed or driven insane. **Expanding on this, Freddy Krueger himself also turned his claws into syringes when he was dealing with a former junkie in Dream Warriors. The only difference is that Freddy's syringes were filled with blue drugs, not yellow. *The skeletons that Batman sees appear to be normal enemies in reality, which means he may be viewing them through the Detective Mode. This is why when he woke from Scarecrow's Third Nightmare, he finds many knocked out henchmen and a pair of Titan Monsters that resemble the skeletons he fought in the Nightmare. *In the nightmare section where you hide from Scarecrow's gaze, when the lightning flashes Batman appears to be Scarecrow. *If you try to use Detective mode while hiding from Scarecrow's gaze and before the memories of Thomas and Martha Wayne's death, Scarecrow will do a very quiet laugh, as if the button triggers a taunt. *If you use Detective mode on the vision of Commissioner Gordon's corpse, the skeleton doesn't show; hinting that the corpse isn't real. On an interesting note there really is a corpse there, however it is just a guard not Gordon. *Scarecrow is the only villain in the game to mention Batman as Wayne. He says his surname during the third encounter. However, as Batman was wildly hallucinating at the time, it is very unlikely that Crane himself actually knows of Batman's secret identity. More than likely, this version of Scarecrow was simply a part of Batman's terrifying hallucination, much like the Joker, Quinn, and Zsasz were at the time. *It was thought the screaming of the orderlies and the inmate at Secure Access was heard from the Patient Observation's public address. After defeating Bane, Stephen Kellerman confirmed this after saying that "Just after you (Batman) took the elevator down, the PA was full of screaming. It was horrible." if you return to the Patient Observation to speak to him. *On Dr. Young's page, he has a question mark on the left bottom corner of the 1st page, which can mean he is working with the Riddler. A piece of evidence is the riddle where Riddler knew that Scarecrow had a secret place, which Riddler might have gone to. *Scarecrow has his own Challenge Map titled "Scarecrow Nightmare". Crane himself appears in the background of this Challenge Map, rapidly taunting Batman as he fights the skeletons Crane controls. *During the final nightmare with Scarecrow, you can not skip the movie scene. Making it the only non-skipping scene in the game. *Like Joker, Scarecrow doesn't have an identifiable cell in the Asylum. Theoretically, he could be held in the "Extreme Isolation" area of Arkham, which is the one place the player can't explore. *In Scarecrow's secret hiding place under the elevators, computer monitors show security camera images of Batman escorting Joker through Arkham. This indicates that Crane may have already escaped his cell prior to the riot, or that he had a way of slipping in and out of his cell without being noticed, given the number of supplies present. *Crane's appearance in Arkham Asylum has been ranked as the 38th Greatest Moment in Gaming. Gallery *Scarecrow (Batman: Arkham Asylum)/Gallery Scarecrow (Batman: Arkham Asylum)